Door to Darkness Part One
by wolf guardian of light
Summary: Twenty years after the golden trio sealed the Dark Heart behind the Door to Darkness, a new evil spreads over the world, and the keybearers are nowhere to be found... Enter the new heroes, A werewolf, a vamp and a dragon... Warning: Mention of Rape, etc.
1. Prologe

Okay. For those who read and reviewed the previous "Door to Darkness Anthross", I'm sorry. I didn't like how the last one was going. So I'm re-writing it. Hope you like.

Talon

We Live!

Nightshade

How long has it been since he wrote us?

Sam

Too long... /Shakes fist threateningly/

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The darkness swirled, rose and fell in an ever-shifting tide of blackness. Yellow, souless eyes faded into view one minute and vanished the next, ever on the hunt for something foolish to venture into their domain, for them to sate thier hunger on. The landscape was barran, not a hint of life anywhere. Not a blade of grass, no rivers to flow, yet there was evidence of rivers long since dried up, deep channals and water carved valleys dotting the area. The unfertile rock underfoot crumbled if anything heavier than a shadow walked across it. And this was rarely the case. For this was the realm of darkness, the world of the evilest creatures to venture forth out into the twilight worlds beyond.

The Heartless.

In the center of this dead world, a single eddifice stood. Obviously made by hand rather than the environment, it was once beautifully carved and decorated in bright colours, ornate handles and sweeping images painstakingly chissled into the strange wood like material.

It was a door with two halves, shaped like a heart, with three keyholes, one on each door and the third connecting them. Centuries, possibly millenia inside this inhospitible land had corrupted and twisted the designs that someone in the past had poured his heart and soul into and now it was crumbling, a deeper darkness, If that was possible, marking where the peices once stood. Three chains criss-crossed over the outside, one white, one black and the other a neural grey. It was obvious to any outside observer that somebody had put as much effort into sealing this door than someone had making it.

Outside the door, the darkness began to twist and dance. It clumped together, sprouted limbs, taking shape. Eventual, te inky darkness melted away to reveal several... people. Some of them were human, or at least, human in appearance. Others were clearly not. A creaure that was made of what looked to be cloth or perhaps sack, was writhing beneath his "Skin". A faint buzzing, crawling sound was coming from him. Next to him, a large barbarian warrior, with a hawk on his shoulder rested his hands on his blade, nose wrinkeling in disgust of the apparition before him. Over nearer the door, a man with a vicious hook for a hand was cleaning the fingernails of his remaining limb.

Only one of the sudden arivals looked concered aout thier whareabouts... A certain Black Witch, Maleficet, the EX-leader of the group created to unlock Kingdom Hearts. The group that was defeated countles times by the KeyBearers and their cronies. She looked up to the door in fear and tried to cower behind a rock. All of a sudden a booming voice was heard, echoing off the countless cliffs and rocks, causing countless Heartless heads to turn their way.

**Maleficent... You have BETRAYED me AGAIN! You have FAILED me, AGAIN!**

She threw herself to her knees before the door and clasped her hands together, begging.

"Please Master, I had no choice! Those Brats with the Keyblades-"

**Silence! I care not for your excuses...**

"But master-"

**I said SILENCE! Now... Do you know the punishment for disobeying me?**

Maleficent shook her head, trembling all over her body. She would rather have faced countless KeyBearers at this point, then to stand before her tempermental leader...

**Your punishment... From Darkness you arose...**

A group of Heartless appeared next to her, running their claws down her body softly. Maleficent let out a pityful wail and struggled againt them.

**...And from Darkness shall you return!**

The Heartless attacked en masse, clawing, cleaving, tearing and shredding. They tore away at her mortal frame to reveal her heart... her bright pink, shining heart, filled with pure light. It floated up towards the door and was drawn towards it, like a Black Hole. It touched the door and sunk into it, turnng black as it did so. The black mist rose and took a new form, one entirely made of Darkness... A large black dragon with a red heart crossed out, its eyes an eriee yellow, void of emotion and dead to all.

Ursula the Tentacled witch let out a snort of laughtler.

"Serves her right! Bah, she wasn't good enough for us..."

**Nor are you Ursula...**

The sea squid turned to the door and let out a yelp of surprise. Collapsing to the floor and grovelling, she went on.

"Master... I am a good and Loyal servent... please, give me one more chance!"

**I have given you far too many chances... ALL have had too many chances!**

The remaining villians stopped watching Ursula grovel and turned to the door in disbelief. They pleaded and wailed, but the presense behind the door had already made its decision.

**I gave you power... I gave you the HEARTLESS, and STILL you fail!**

Several heartless, no less than the ones that they used to command clambered on top of them, biting and clawing, slicing and dicing, hacking and chewing...

**Now... NOW you will serve better... Serve me... As Heartless...**

Wen the heartless fell away, they had transformed into horrific beasts, all with crossed out hearts, all black, all with dead yellow eyes...

**You... Find me a vassel, worthy of serving me...**

A single Shadow Heartless leaped up and crouched low, bowing towards its _true_ master behind the door. Flattening on the ground, its shape wavered slightly, before fading out of existance...

**A mortal will nothing but rage, hatred and fear in his heart... A mortal with no love, or friendship, or compasion... He must be... Pure Dark...**

------------------

Well? What d'ya think, better or worse? I thnk it sounds better... And looks better, now I have a better computer to write on...


	2. Dive to the Dawn Opening

Dive to Dawn

The full moon shone down on the small town, the street lights winking off one by one as the nocturnal residents came out to play...

_Kimi wo, Suki ni natte,_

_Dorekurai tatsu no kana?_

_Kimi wa, Kono omoi kidzuiteiru no kana?_

_Ihido mo kotoba ni wa, Shitenai kedo..._

Near the woods, a bright figure shines in the moonlight, the cheerful laughter of a young woman ringing through the trees. The figure paused at the edge of a cliff and rose it's head. On its back a black haired teenage girl was smiling, a few strands of her hair covering her eyes. The wolf howled and ran towards the edge...

_Yuki no youni, Tada shizukani,_

Furitsumori, Tsadzukete yuku...

The pair of them dived down, leaping from rocky outcrop to tall tree branch, like a shooting star in the blackness.

_Hold... Me tight,_

_Konna omoi nara,_

_Dareka wo suki ni naru kiochi,_

_Shiritaku nakatta yo..._

_I... Love you,_

_Namida tomaranai_

_Konnan ja, Kimi no koto,_

_Shirazui ireba yokatta yo..._

Down below, a large lizard-like creature was building a fire, occasionally huffing sheets of flame onto the dry wood. As it heard a whoop of laughter, he glanced up and saw a bright glint leaping from branch to branch in the tree tops above. With a sad sort of smaile, he turned back to the firewood.

_Kimi wo, itsumade,_

_omotteiru no kana?_

_Tameiki ga mado garasu kumoraseta._

_Yureru kokoro totsu kyrndoru de,_

_Ima tokashite yukenai kana?_

The dragon met up with the Wolf and the girl riding on him, as the flames rose above their heads, keeping the chill of the winter night at bay. As the Wolf and Girl started to talk more and more between themselves, the dragon sighed and excused himself, wandering into the forrest, his tail trailing into the small amount of snow behind him, creating a small furrow. Looking back over his shoulder, he shivered longingly as the Wolf wrapped his furred arms around the trembling girl.

_Hold... Me tight,_

_Oreru hodo tsuyoku_

_kogarashi fubuki ni deatte mo,_

_samukunai youni to._

_I... Miss you,_

_Kimi wo omou tabi,_

_amikake no kono mafuraa,_

_kouna mo hitori dakishimeru yo._

In the distance, the city danced and wavered in hues of red and orange, screams peircing the night, buildings crumbling down and shadows crawling over the ground, swallowing people whole. And all the while, the dragon kept his eye on the girl and the wolf wrapped around her, oblivious to all but their closeness, the heavily falling snow burying him slightly.

_Eien ni furu yukiga aru nara,_

_Kimi he to tsudzuku kono omoi,_

_kakuseru no kana?_

The shadows came to the gathering of supernatural creatures; dragons, witches, wizards, vampires and demons swallowed by the dark forces. Only the Dragon, Wolf and Girl were left, running from the indestrucable creatures pursuing them. As they ran to the centre of their town, several of the black creatures leapt upon them, submerging them in a sea of Darkness.

_Hold... Me tight,_

_Konna omoi nara,_

_dareka wo suki ni naru kimochi,_

_shiritaku nakatta yo..._

A blaze of light erupted from within the seething mass of creatures, and the three broke through, their hands shining like stars. The lights solidified to form weapons, none of which the world has seen for millenia...

_I... Love you,_

_Mune ni komiageru,_

_Fuyuzora ni sakebitai, _

_ima sugu kimi ni aitai yo..._

The three fought the monsters, reaching their homes, all destroyed, their families gone. Taken, by the Darkness...

High above the city, standing on a church weathercock, a young man glared down at the three who dared to survive the assualt. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a picture of him, though younger, standing next to someone who could only be his father. Staring down at the trio, more particularly the wolf, he scowled and twirled on the spot, fading into darkness.

-----------

The Dragon held tightly on to the wooden boards that were sunk heavily into the ground, the strange black hole in the sky tearing at his grip, drawing him into it's open maw. Looking on either side of him, the Wolf and the Girl struggled also. Suddenly, the girl's grip failed and she shot into the sky, heading towards the sparking mass. The Wolf shouted something intelligable and let go of his grip, catching the girl as he too began to fall into the abyss. The dragon looked from the pair of them, to the hole, then to the boards he had sunk his claws into, then back to the couple. Screwing his eyes shut, he pulled out his talons and swiftly caught up with them, grabbing hold as they sunk into the black sphere...

**STAR STAR STAR STAR**

Well, here it is. Sort of the Title sequence for my story. I was thinking of sticking with a traditional Utada Hiakru song (She's the one who sang "Simple and Clean" and "Sanctuary") but I quite liked how this song translates... If you want the translation, ask me and I'll send it to you. It fits pretty well. The song is called "Eternal Snow" but I don't know who sang it. Be grateful. I could have done Chris D'Lacey's "Fire Star" song... You'll need to go to www icefire .co. uk to hear that though...


	3. Darkness Spreads

Lost in the Dark

**Important info.**

_The three heroes of the story have different names. This is based upon their species and their interaction with humans._

_Sam Feldmam Human nameWolf Werewolf name_

_Adam Vasics Human nameTalon Dragon name_

_Isobel Dunnings HumanNightshade Vampire_

_Also, I've tweaked the idea of the Keys. Instead of many swords, there are only three (Light, Dark and Twilight) and many other KeyWeapons._

_Sam Gauntlets_

_Adam Shield_

_Isobel Rod _

The young woman screamed as she ran into the alley, the footsteps of the thugs behind her increasing. Mentally, she slapped her hand against her head. This was what she got for wearing heels on a night out...

She ran into a small dead-end and scrabbled at the wall hopefully, willing the brick and mortar to turn to mist and fade away, leaving her with an escape route. Behind her, the footsteps slowed and stopped a chuckling sending chills up her spine.

"Look lady, it'll be more enjoyable if you don't..." One of them pushed her up against the wall face first and licked her cheek slowly.

"...Resist..." She trembled as she felt groping hands claw at her dress, whimpered as she felt their hot breath on the back of her neck, stinking of alcoholic fumes.

"Actually, I tell a lie... It won't be _as_ unpleasant if you don't resist..." With a single tug, her dress shredded, revealing her petite frame. Cold. Alone. Vulnerable.

"No need to rush boys... Plenty to go aroun-" Suddenly the three rapists fell silent as the woman tried to turn her head round. A low feral noise was causing the hairs on the back of her neck to sand up and all the ancient instincts dulled by millennia of civilisation sat up and screamed in terror.

"G-Good boy..." One of the thugs tried to reach for a weapon, which only caused the animal to increase the pitch of its growl a little. The hand was removed. The growl lowered again.

"What did you catch now?" From way above their heads a young, female voice called out from the darkness, a slight amusement lightening the tone. Looking up, they caught a glimpse of a young teenage girl, with black hair and an unusually feral grin, her eyes shining bright. Taking a step forward, the girl plummeted several stories and landed perfectly, barely bending her knees. Walking up to the gang, she put her hands on her hips and glanced towards the creature, cautiously laying her hand upon it's head, her smile broadening as it made no effort to shrug her off.

"Well, they'll certainly bulk up our meals for a few days... Nice work." She smiled then, a pair of sharp fangs glinting in the pale orange light of the street lamps. The monster seemed to chuckle a little, the grip loosening a little, however, as one made to grab something behind his back, the pressure returned with a vengeance.

"Err... Miss? Could you... Be so kind as to... call off your dog? Please?" The girl peered round his shoulder and saw the young woman still cowering against the wall, naked as the day she was born.

"Oh, I never tell him what do to... He makes his own mind." The creature looked around the human he was clamping onto and growled even fiercer when he saw the state the woman was in. The pressure on his wrist increased a little more.

"Please Miss, we haven't done anything wrong!" She swept past them and pulled the woman away from the wall. Just as she was opening her mouth for a swift retort, from up above, a few stones were kicked down, a scrabbling noise echoed around the narrow space and a short, muffled yell rebounded off the brick walls as a red and orange blur made its way from the roof to the ground. With a thud, the large lizard-like creature lay sprawled on the ground, rubbing its head with both paws.

Ow..." The girl pulled the woman in closer to her and guided her behind the creature.

"Clumsy lizard... C'mon, spread your wings." Grumbling about fanged faces and that nobody was to worry about his bent snout, it obliged, providing a make-shift screen for the woman. Once or twice, it tried to sneak a peek, but was glared at by the animal holding the thugs hostage. A few rustlings later, she emerged, dressed in a basic black gown. Pushing the woman's belongs that she picked up into her arms; she turned her towards the mouth of the alley.

"You don't want to see this. Trust me. Go home." As the woman stumbled out of the dark space, she paused and glanced at the monsters... And the people who saved her from them.

"Thank you..." Nodding without looking at her, the girl waved her away.

"Shoo! Before you see what's coming next..." She smiled again, running her tongue over her ivory fangs and giving out a sinister laugh.

The dog let go of the thug and padded round to sit next to the fanged woman, his white fur gleaming in the dark. As it jerked his head, the Lizard wandered up to them and pushed them against the wall.

"What the hell- What are you!?" The lizard ignored him and rummaged in his pockets, pulling out a wallet. Examining it, he grinned and pulled out a bundle of notes, rubbing the cloth-like paper between his claws gently. Peering deeper, he pulled out a small square of plastic and his grin broadened.

"Talon..." The woman's voice held a warning tone and the lizard huffed, but he placed the item in a small pouch on his belt anyway, ignoring the woman's warning. Shaking her head, she met the gaze of the wolf besides her.

"Is that all he thinks about?" Her expression never changed as one of the thugs began to fight with Talon over a small ring on his finger.

"Guess not..." The wolf made a complicated movement that closely resembled a shrug and flicked his tail. Wandering into a small path of shadows, a few cans were knocked out of the road as a noise like a canine sneeze caused the Lizard to grin, and a furry humanoid wolf emerged dressed in a basic pair of jeans.

"Get on with it Talon. We're starving over here." The other two were quickly searched and any money, items and even small weapons were taken. The would-be rapists were then pushed into the wall by a pair of furred and heavily muscular arms and a growl-like voice whispered into their ears.

"I've got your scent now, you Bastards... If I ever find you doing this again, I swear on the Mother Moon, that I will tear you limb... From... Limb..." The pressure was quickly released and by the time they had turned round, all three of the creatures were gone.

"Well, that was a good haul. Didn't get anything to eat, but hey, who cares?" The lizard's tail swayed back and forth, occasionally whipping nearby chimneys as they moved.

"Shut up Talon." Despite the warning, the Lizard went on.

"I mean, it should be _easy_ to find a meal, out here in the middle of an unknown city." The woman gritted her teeth as they began to itch and clenched her fists.

"Shut _up_ Talon..." The lizard snorted, and a small sheet of flame illuminated the dark rooftops for a few moments. He then continued, as if warnings were for other people.

"And who knows, we might even be able to find a decent place to sleep tonight, instead of the same damp, dirty, smelly disgusting-"

"That's it Lizard, I'm gonna-!" The wolf, who remained silent all this time reached up with one paw and laid it gently on her shoulder, before glancing at Talon.

"Ease up Talon... We're all hungry and tired. But we'll make the most of it." He gestured towards the pouch on his belt and turned to face the girl.

"I know he's a pawful, but we all need to calm down, okay?" The woman sighed and shook her head, running her fingers through her hair.

"Right... Sorry." Giving her a rare smile, the wolf turned to face the rising moon and sighed.

"Although Talon is right... We need somewhere decent to sleep tonight." He looked down from his lofty perch, the street lights making the city a Galaxy of stars.

As they made their way towards their small rooftop sanctuary, Nightshade began to do cartwheels on the ledge, her black hair becoming a dark halo with every flip. Talon was busy checking his claws, scraping dirt out from under them and occasionally checking the contents of his little pouch. The wolf simply stared ahead, still grumbling over Talon and Nightshade's decision to let those punks go. As he thought about various punishments, his stomach growled loudly, reminding them all that they hadn't eaten for three days. Since they arrived in this weird city. Lightly thumping his fist against his stomach, he gave an embarrassed grin and his ears flattened against his head. Flipping back onto her feet, Nightshade threw her hands up into the air in desperation.

"That's it... C'mon Wolf, we got plenty of money from those guys, why don't we get something to eat?" Wolf rubbed the back of his neck, ruffling his pale blonde hair as he did. True, there was no real reason, but they still didn't know anything about this place. For all they knew, they could be richer beyond even Talon's dreams, or poorer than Wolf suspected they were.

"Talon?" The dragon peered up from his personal grooming and shrugged.

"Sure, why not. I mean, its not as if we've got anything better to do with it..." Finally reaching their small domain, Wolf quickly crawled his way up a nearby wall to his "room", using his claws to drag himself up, ramming them into brick and mortar alike. Nightshade vanished in a blaze of light, only to reappear within a small, bricked up room, with a few sheets of cardboard for a bed. Talon spread his wings and soared over a large hole in the roof to a overhang above a radiator vent, plumes of steam circulating round his scales as he curled up around it, his tail tucked under his chin.

"Well, home sweet home..." From above Wolf tossed a small stone on top of his horned head and jerked towards the city below.

"Change." With that he turned and ducked under view. It was a curious habit among his kind that they didn't really like to be seen during changing by other species, unless they trusted the individual very highly indeed. Talon shrugged. He'd gotten a good look at Wolf during his changes plenty of times before, mostly when he was naked. Of course, Wolf never knew that he was. However it still puzzled Talon why he'd still hide from him, even after 12 years of being best friends. On the other hand, considering his past, it was a wonder he'd trusted anyone ever again. Shaking his head he allowed his scales and horns to melt into skin and hair, his belt shift into a pair of jeans, the pouch tied to one of the belt straps. Putting his hand underneath it, he weighed it a few times, grinning at the weight of it. If there was one thing a Dragon loved more than anything it was valuables, of all kinds. Some collected information, rare tomes and ancient scrolls adorning their homes, some even collected dolls, but he'd had never seen the attraction of that. Talon preferred the classical version of treasure, that which you could feel in your paws and make a comfortable bed from.

Within the hollow space, Nightshade sniffed at a small dress and reared her head back, holding the little black number at arms length. Tossing it into a cleaned out oil drum in the corner, she struggled to find something in her bag that wasn't dirty or too smelly to wear...

"Hey Isobel, what's taking so long?" Talon was tapping near the letterbox sized hole in the wall, his unusually long fingernails clacking on the stone. From up above she could hear the soft footsteps of David fade and disappear as he too was looking for something to wear. Finally, she reached the bottom of her hold-all and pulled out a slightly rumpled, but definitely wearable, t-shirt and pair of jeans. Sighing in relief, she wandered over to the slot and pushed a bunch of rags into it, chuckling at the Dragon's snort of disgust.

Up on the rooftop room, with one wall missing, David examined a shirt for stains, the stench of blood hanging in the air. He couldn't find the cause and it was driving him mad...

"Hey Nature-boy, ready?" Adam's scaly wings furled into his back and melted into his body once more, as he peered round the room. Wolf was semi-naked, his chest marred by many old scars, evidence of his hard past. Talon took some time to study them, since Sam had never let anyone see them before. And he wasn't about to let it start now. Pulling on the shirt anyway, embarrassed, Sam peered out the hole into the sky.

"It'll be dry, don't worry." He gave him a sceptical look. The sky was black, the clouds boiling in the air.

"Hey, my tail isn't quivering... Has my tail ever let us down before?" Shaking his head in exasperation, Sam fastened the final button and jumped out the hole, changing his hand just enough to get claws to slow his decent, creating a furrow in the bricks. He landed silently next to a freshened up Isobel, who was holding her hand above her eyes and peering into the writhing clouds.

"Looks bad..." Talon threw his hands into the air and grumbled about stubborn Shifters, his wings reappearing and forming a crude cloak against the night-time chill, which felt bitterly cold after the luxurious steam bath.

"Maybe we could make some more money... We still have your guitar don't we Sam?" He gave a sort of semi-shrug, indicating that indeed, the guitar was available, what did you want it for? Talon caught on pretty quickly and grinned before composing himself and leaning non-chalantly near the building's edge.

"If worst comes to worst, we could always perform..." Sam visibly flinched and stumbled off the ledge. Isobel and Adam then wandered up to the edge and peered down, faces calculating, unworried.

"Yep, that was a definite flinch... Pay up." The raven-haired Vampire held out her hand, still keeping her eyes on the recovering Werewolf down below. Snorting, the Dragon rummaged in his pouch and pulled out a small gemstone, smacking it into her waiting palm, grumbling at the loss.

"Look, I said I was sorry..." Talon and Nightshade were trailing behind Wolf as he searched for a decent restaurant that did rare steak; almost power walking his way through the high street. He peered back to them, then sharply brought his head forward, breaking eye contact. Nightshade smirked and ran ahead of him. She knew that it was against David's nature to hold on to his temper.

"You _know_ how much I hate being on stage..."

"Oh c'mon... Remember when Talon set me up with that snare trap? I was upside down for an _hour_... And he brought an audience before you managed to get me down... You got off pretty light." Sam ruffled his hair again, like he always did when he was agitated and sighed, slowing his pace a little. Talon quickly matched the new pace, stuffing his head in front of Nightshades.

"Hey, she was the one who put me up to it..." Grinning, Wolf pushed his head out of the road and laughed, punching Talon in the arm playfully as he past.

Suddenly he stopped, his laughter fading away. He raised his head and looked around the street shiftily, before covering his head with his shirt, emerging a few seconds later with large, wolf-like ears. He cocked his head this way and that, his expression becoming ever more grave.

"Sam..?"

He turned to look at the horizon where the lights were slowly fading and winking off, one by one. In the sudden darkness, writhing shapes crawled over the city. On the edge of hearing, a thin, rasping, _hungry_ voice called out.

_**Come... Come to me... Heart... Light... Darkness... Swallows all...**_

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. The other two knew what it meant. Wordlessly, they stood closer together, fingers flexing out of reflex. Eventually, Wolf rose his head.

"There are too many... We can't beat them all..." Meeting the worried eyes of his friends, he nodded and grabbed their arms, pushing them forward.

"Go! I'll-" Talon and Nightshade gripped his shoulders and pulled him along.

"No heroics! C'mon!" They dragged him away as the shapes became more distinct, individual bodies able to be picked out from the shifting shapes, large yellow soulless eyes peering out from the blackness. Talon sped up and turned down a corner, ignoring cries of protest from Wolf and Nightshade as they tried to keep up. Just as they reached the corner, he came back round faster, if possible, than he went down.

"Not that way!" Peering down the street, Wolf saw hundreds of black creatures slashing at doorways, chasing people from building to building, clawing at those who fell on the street. Gripping Adam's collar, he pulled him back round the corner and pointed to a small huddling group of children trying to hide from a duo of armoured monsters. Sighing, Talon spread his arms in a grand gesture, flames covering his entire body. When they had died down, the dragon Talon was in his place. Turning to Wolf, he shook his head, a martyr expression on his face.

"The things I do for Heroics..."

Spreading his wings, he soared overhead, landing just before the kids, tail cracking like a whip. Holding out a clawed hand, light blazed and solidified to form a strange shield. It was vaguely round, more like a hexagon with rounded edges. In the centre, a strange engraved symbol caught what little light there was provided by the many fires that had broken out in the street. It almost looked like a key, pointing up to the sky and just below that, in black paint, a keyhole rimmed in grey against the white metal. Upon looking at it, the monsters reared back, hissing.

**Key! A Key!... Destroy! Destroy it!**

As one launched itself into the air to land a clawed hand, Talon's arms moved on their own accord, blocking the attack and using the rim to slice into the gut of the beast. Black mist, almost a fine spray, swirled around in the air for a moment before it disappeared. Grinning, Talon leapt and brought the shield down on the other's head, crushing it. It had turned to dust before he reached the ground.

"And another one bites the dust..." Chuckling at his own joke, Talon beckoned the kids out from their hiding spot.

"See that Wolf over there? Go to him, hurry!" The oldest one nodded and took the hand of the young girl who was clutching a small doll to her chest, sucking her thumb. As more of the black creatures came into being, he reached into his pouch ( up to his elbow, as impossible as it sounds)... And slammed his eyes open while his hand searched frantically.

"_Nightshade!_" Without turning, he brought the dome of the shield up to head height, as if in salute, just next to his horns where it caught a leaping monster in the face, creating a fireball, he tossed it over his shoulder, setting the black creatures alight as he sought out the thieving vampire...

Nightshade flipped over the head of a charging monster, a blaze of light solidifying into a small rod-like object. At its tip a strange keyhole like shape formed a solid mass suitable for clubbing the musters on the head. For some reason this caused them to turn to dust, much rather like the old stories about her kind. The rest of the rod was quite slender, ending in an ornamental sculpture of a key pointing to the ground. Pausing to listen to a loud roar of anger quickly followed by her name, she chuckled and lifted a music player from her pocket. Glancing at the creatures forming a circle around her, she scrolled down the list and fitted the earphones, twirling the rod in her hand. As one tried to creep up on her from behind, a piece of her own shadow rose out of the ground and whacked it away from her. Rising an eyebrow at her mobile shade but saying nothing, she pressed play just as the monsters leapt to attack.

_If you wanna see some action,  
Gotta be the centre of attraction,  
Make sure that they got their eyes on you, like the face that you see on every magazine..._

She began to nod her head to the beat, dancing in between the claws that rained down on her, occasionally disappearing in a flash of light to reappear behind her attacker.

_Be the focus of attention.  
Be the name that every one must mention.  
Come out from the shadows, it's your time, cos tonight is the night for everyone to see..._

For some reason she got a strange need to do certain actions. She could tell when things were going to attack her, even though she couldn't see them. She knew just how to block attacks, how to cut through their defences, how to use their own attacks against them...

_It's natural.  
You know that this is where you gotta be, it must be your destiny...  
Sensational.  
And you believe that, this is what you've waited for and it's you that they all adore, so baby..._

She threw her hands into the air as more and more of the monsters crowded round her and her shadow peeled away from her and created a ring, where six whip-like strands rose from the earth and coiled, ready to spring...

_Now you feel like number one  
Shining bright for everyone  
Living out your fantasy, the  
Brightest star for all to see.  
Now you feel like number one  
Shining bright for everyone  
Living out your fantasy, you're the  
Brightest star there's ever been..._

The Shadows sprung, cracking on the bodies of the creatures they struck. Black dust flew in all directions, shrouding Nightshade from view as she continued to dance in the midst of the carnage, her movements somehow controlling the black appendages.

_Feel the heat that's all around you  
Flashing lights and ecstasy surround you  
Everybody wants a piece of you; you're the queen of the scene, living in a dream_

From above, a red and orange blur jumped into her circle and grabbed the music player swinger by her hip. Giving it one of her most innocent smiles, she danced around it as it scrabbled for the small plastic rectangle. She then looked up, Smiled brighter and said in her sweetest voice;

"Hey Talon... Behind you..." He brought his shield up just as a pair of razor-like claws scraped down it, creating a screech that made the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end.

_It's natural  
You know that this is where you gotta be, it must be your destiny  
Sensational  
And you believe that, this is what you've waited for and it's you that they all adore_

Talon blew into his hands, creating a huge fireball and rose it above his head, where it flattened and turned into a ring. It seemed to spin, flames licking at the black tendrils before overlapping them, setting them ablaze. Instead of hindering them however, they took the flames in their stride, hitting at the black creatures even harder.

_Now you feel like number one  
Shining bright for everyone  
Living out your fantasy, the  
Brightest star for all to see_

This is what you've waited for and it's you that they all adore

Smacking the rod and shield together, the flaming tendrils rose up from the ground and began to enlarge; turning any black creature they came across to dust. They broke apart, the tendrils sweeping the ground, the flames taking care of any that came in by air. As Talon and Nightshade stopped their own spinning, the two rings faded away and they slumped against one another.

_Now you feel like number one  
Shining bright for everyone  
Living out your fantasy, the  
Brightest star for all to see  
Now you feel like number one  
Shining bright for everyone  
Living out your fantasy, you're the  
Brightest star there's ever been..._

As Talon leaned on his knees, he panted and glanced at a similar Nightshade.

"You know... You could have... Asked..."

"Would you... Have given it... To me?" Talon gave a sort of slow, sideways nod to say that she was probably right.

While Talon and Nightshade were arguing over who got the music player in between cremating or bashing the monsters, Wolf was guiding people to a nearby church with thick wooden doors and thicker stone walls. Clenching then unclenching his fists, they were coated in a flash of light, revealing a pair of what seemed to be metallic gloves. Down on his legs, the jeans were also coated in light, making way for a pair of metallic covers that guarded the lower half of his legs. They looked faintly animalistic, with sharp claws and an almost paw-like look. On his right hand, A key was engraved; the dancing flames making it look as if it were breathing, alive. On the Left, a large keyhole covered the back of his hand. However strange they were, they were certainly effective as he slashed his way through hordes of amassing monsters. Leaping over towards a group of terrified humans thumping the door of the large church, he pushed his way through and _pushed_...

The door resisted, along with the several heavy pews leaning against them. Gesturing to the door, he called over some of the stronger looking humans to help him. But before they could push it any further an aging man eyes wild with fear and his priestly collar hanging loose splashed cold water over Wolf's face. Blinking slowly, he wiped off most of the water and glared through the door.

"Begone from this domain, foul beast of Hell!" Wolf rolled his eyes and glanced at one of the refugees.

"Charming..." The woman ducked under Wolf's arm and put her face against the wood.

"Father Muldoon, There are people trapped out he-" She was interrupted as Wolf pushed her down, just missing a swooping attack of some winged, pirate like creature. With a snarl, he rebounded off the door and embedded his claws deeply into the shocked creature, using its rapidly decomposing body to drop to safety, dusting himself off when he landed. Scowling, he reached through the opening and grabbed a handful of robes, pulling the priest towards him.

"Open... This... Door... Now." He pushed the priest back, causing him to flail as he sought to reclaim his balance, while Wolf placed his hands against the door once more.

"Or I'll do it for you..." Pushing against it a little, he grinned, at least, he bared his teeth, as the pews scraped along the stone floor. Behind the priest, a group of men pushed his out of the road and struggled with the wooden benches, occasionally hacking into them with fire-axes in their effort to get those outside to safety.

Once all of them were in relative safety, Sam sat down on a remarkably whole bench and glared up at the image of Christ that gazed down at them. He never liked religion, though he'd never tell anybody why.

Some wounds were too deep to properly heal.

Talon was looking at the various valuables in the church with obvious lust and more than once Sam had to growl deep in his throat to jerk him back into reality.

"C'mon Wolf, just one..." Grabbing his tail and jerking him on to the bench, he let his gaze travel over to Nightshade, who was helping a woman with her baby, her fangs gone, leaving a smile you couldn't help but return.

"You like her, don't you?" turning round, he came face to face with Talon's human face, his expression serious for once. Turning back round he flicked his tail against Adam's leg, a sign telling him to drop it. Pushing his tail away, he continued.

"Its pretty obvious you know. You smile a lot more when she's in the room."

"Adam..." He growled, but Adam went on regardless.

"This needs to be said. Tell me, would you have leapt into that black hole for anybody else?" He ducked out of the way as Wolf ran his claws down the wood where his head was mere moments ago. Wolf wouldn't actually try to hurt him, knowing that Adam was quicker than people gave him credit for, however it was a useful tool in getting his life-long friend to shut up.

Okay, well, first chapter... This is basically introducing my main Key-Bearers... Please, be kind enough to tell me what you think of them.


	4. Between the Candle and the Night

Well... It's been a while, and no mistake. Sorry 'bout that.

Anyway, I'd like to dedicate this chapter to a friend of mine. Kitsunex3, from deviantart dot com or littleyoukai as he is now known as... He... well, let me put it like this. Talon's problems are nothing compared to what I'm going through, and he convinced me that it isn't as life changing as I thought.

**STAR STAR STAR STAR**

_Dive to the Dark_

"Aw... They're so cute at this age..." Isobel gently cradled the child in her arms, fangs shrinking back to normal size and her smile infectious. Several other women were cooing over her shoulder, wiggling their fingers in hello, giggling when the infant gripped them in that mysterious strong grip that children that age have. Carefully, she handed him back to his mother, stood up, dusted herself down and began to walk around the other refugees within the Church, reassuring them, comforting lost children and occasionally slapping women, and the occasional man, back into her senses.

Over by the door, Talon and Wolf leaned against the heavy ancient wood, their strange weapons creating a sort of barrier between them and the hellish army outside.

"How many are out there?" Talon twisted his head until he could look outside the small letterbox, eyes travelling around the street outside.

"Well, I can't see any- Oh no, wait, there they are..." A small group had stayed behind when the others, after learning they couldn't cross the doorway, ran off. Wolf didn't know why and he was nervous. Something was making his hackles stand on end, and a wise wolf always listened to his hackles...

--

The night drifted on, and eventually the screams and snarls of the outside world faded away one by one. The complete and unnatural silence was worse then the screaming itself and hardly anyone managed to get any sleep until deep into the night. Wolf was atop the large figure of Christ, musing to himself about how it was probably Blasphemy of some sorts and not caring. His keen eyes, designed to operate under the heavy, almost stifling, light of the full moon could just barely see shapes and shadows dancing outside the stained glass, the occasional burst of sparks the only true evidence that they had not given up on the trembling people within.

"They're still there..." He spoke to seemingly thin air until Nightshade walked out from a pool of shadows cast by the Cross, swinging her legs over the other arm, hands gently resting on the arm of the image of Christ. In the still air, he caught her murmuring a quiet apology.

"You believe? After all we've seen?" She was silent for a few moments before sighing, the ruffle of her dress as she turned to face him deafening.

"After all we've seen, it's all we've got... You're in a sombre mood." Wolf sniffed the air, squinting at the window before him.

"It's too quiet... They haven't tried to get in for three hours now..." Just then a pair of claws ran down the surface of the window, a shower of dazzling lights erupting in his vision, causing Nightshade to jump out of her skin. Wolf seemed unfazed, although she did see his tail flick an inch.

"And that was..?" Wolf shook his head, flexing his hands and feeling the gauntlets and greaves shimmer into being.

"They're not trying to get in... It's a diversion." Nightshade looked puzzled for a few seconds before speaking up.

"How'd you kn-"

"I'm a hunter." he said simply, eyes scouring the floor below for any creatures that may have slipped in somehow. His gaze came across a reddish lizard half buried under a load of children, his natural flames helping to keep the chill of the stone walls at bay... Not to mention the kids were in awe of him after their rescue. Apart from that, nothing was amiss.

Still, he settled in to wait, holding sleep at bay. Something was coming, and he wanted to be ready for it.

"Go get some sleep Nightshade... I think we'll need it." Nightshade glanced at him from the corner of her eye and turned away. She stood up, balanced perfectly on the thin wood.

"I'll relieve you in two hours, okay?" A thin smile crept over his lips before he could stop himself. His kind was made to live in the dark and she knew it. It was nice to know she cared but he waved her off, saying she and Talon needed the rest more after the way they had fought earlier.

--

The attack was swift and ruthless... Something smashed against the doors to the church... Something _huge_. Going from observant to wide awake in less than a second, Wolf leapt off the Cross while the humans scurried around him and slammed onto the doors making sure his gauntlets were in contact with the ancient wood. Whatever these things were, they didn't like the touch of them.

"Talon, Nightshade, see if you can get the people somewhere safer!" Another blow slammed against the door and the barrier smashed with an audible shattering, while Wolf's arms felt on fire as the Gauntlet's power was re-absorbed so suddenly. A single claw pushed its way through the splintered door and was met by a swift downward stroke, removing the paw at the wrist. A pained hissing from outside caused the werewolf to grin and settled in to hold the doors closed, waiting for his team-mates to return, the shuddering of each blow numbing his arms more and more...

--

"I expect this is... A home away from home... For you eh?" Talon leaned back after pushing away the large cover stone to the Crypt beneath the church, a scowling Nightshade keeping an eye on the stairs behind in case the unthinkable happened... The Teenage Dragon puffed into his hand and a bright, almost blue flame was cupped in his palm, illuminating the dusty, dry catacombs beneath the city. Cobwebs and fallen rocks were everywhere, as well as the occasional rat...

"Talon, that's disgusting..." The pinkish tail slipped between his muzzle like spaghetti and a smile crept over his features.

"Like you're not hungry either..." Like a whip, his tail snapped into the dark shadows caused by his flame and emerged with a struggling rat scrabbling against the hard scales. Holding it out to her he laughed at her frozen features and laughed even louder when she leaned back from it.

The humans were understandingly un-nerved by clinging to life within the refuge of the dead, but as torches were dutifully lit by the lizard, blankets and fires keeping the chill at bay, they huddled in the dark, watching their protectors take up positions by the doorway, ready for Wolf to come down and join them. Talon occupied himself by grabbing and gulping any rat that was unfortunate enough to venture too close. Although it made her sick, Nightshade could understand why... Humans were a lot more fragile than either of their species, and rats did carry a lot of diseases transmitted through bites. Then there were the kids to worry about.

However, that didn't mean he had to creep her out in the process.

"For God's sake Talon, do you _have_ to do that?!" Tossing another flailing live rat into his open maw, he crunched mercilessly, enjoying the torment in his foe's eyes.

"Yeah... I do actually..." Nightshade's eyes turned a vivid crimson for a moment before retuning to their natural hue.

"Just what the Hell is your problem with me?" The dragon's features slowly melted away to reveal a strangely cold stare. Despite herself, Nightshade shivered. Fire was one of the few things that could kill her after all. His eyes were devoid of the usual good humour they usually held and instead seemed filled with both sorrow and intense anger.

"None of your business." Eyes flaring again, Nightshade snatched his hand in mid-air, sending a rat tumbling to the ground.

"It is my business! You don't like me, despite my obvious attempts to get along with you... And I want to know why. Is it my species? My hair? My eyes?" Talon snatched his hand back from her icy grip, rubbing his wrist.

"Trust me; you don't want to know..."

Nightshade sighed to herself, turning her back to the dragon, staff twirling in her hands as she stared up the winding staircase that lead to the main body of the church.

"Maybe if you told me what was wrong, we could get along... Sam must be tired of our constant bickering by now..." Talon said nothing, gulping down another rat noiselessly.

"Its true his patience isn't boundless..."

Nightshade said nothing for a while. She just got the feeling that a truce was made somewhere. Eventually, the deathly silence forced her to speak.

"How long have you known him?"

"... Since we were five." Turning her head slightly, she shifted on the damp floor trying to get more comfortable.

"That long?" Talon nodded, lost in thought.

He remembered they're first meeting well... He doubted Sam did, but under the circumstances, he was lucky he hadn't gone stark raving mad... The state he was in when they pulled him out... The stench of blood hung over him... Eyes glassy, soulless. Lost.

"Yeah... That long..." Talon stood up, tail wrapping round his waist to keep the chill out.

"Listen... I've known him a long time... And... The most I've ever gotten him to do is smile."

Walking off into the shadows, Talon paused and looked over his shoulder.

"You've been the first one to make him laugh in ten years... Don't hurt him. Or I swear, I'll torch you." Nightshade's eyes opened wide and she scrabbled up from the floor and turned Talon round, pushing him against a wall, eyes crimson.

"What the Fuck is that supposed to mean!" Talon pushed her arms out of the road and jabbed a clawed finger into her chest.

"I'm _not_ gonna let his heart be broken again, you got me?"

"I love him, its not as if I'm gonna dump him or anything!"

"Oh c'mon, you're a vamp! Just a parasite!"

Nightshade snarled, fangs visibly growing in the wane light and stared into Talon's own eyes.

"He loves me for what I am, and I the same! What have you got against that!?"

"'Cos I saw him first!"

--

Wolf grimaced as another blow threatened to shatter his arm sockets, the wood groaning from the onslaught. It wouldn't be long now before it gave way completely. He could only hope that the others had stopped arguing between themselves to get the humans somewhere safer. Another strike on the wood forced him back a couple of paces which were used by those creatures to slip in some of their smaller forces. A quick succession of swipes turned them to dust before he dutifully returned to holding the door intact.

_Come on guys, I need some help up here!_

--

Nightshade and Talon sat in the dark, silent, each of them thinking so hard you could almost hear them. At certain periods, either of the two of them would open their mouths, hesitate, then close them again. Talon was coiling up even tighter and if you weren't looking for it, you would miss the slight tremble that shuddered over him. Nightshade kept stealing looks at him. In hindsight, it was obvious. He was always making her look bad in front of him, always butting in when least wanted, always standing between Wolf and herself... But never once interfering when the two of them finally did get a few moments together.

"You..." The only sign that Talon heard her was to open his eyes a slit, black pupils sliding over to look at her.

"You... Never told him, did you?" His eyes closed over once more, and was silent for what felt like hours before they opened again, looking straight ahead with a sad expression.

"I... Didn't think he needed to know." Another long and uncomfortable silence welled up in the dark. Even Nightshade, whose species were evolved for such places, felt its smothering effects pressing down on them. Shifting on the spot, she could feel the question well up inside her, threatening to burst out.

"So... Is it just... Guys?" The dragon's tail flicked in annoyance before stilling again.

"I used to think it was just girls... And then... Well, I suppose a little from column A, a little from column B." She nodded to herself, feeling strangely relieved. Seeing his downcast expression, she shimmied over to him and placed her hand on his shoulder.

"He wouldn't hold it against you..."

"I know. He's cool like that." Talon stood up, letting her hand slip off his reptile-like skin and gently stretched his legs, pacing across the crypt softly, fire reflected over his scales.

"But... I knew... That he wouldn't be interested... You know?" He sat down next to Nightshade, rubbing the back of his head and emitting a world-weary sigh. The teenage vampire nodded, then realised that he wouldn't see it and cleared her throat.

"I know exactly how you feel... I am a Vampire after all... Not the most loved of species." She could _hear_ the smirk on his face before the chuckle and smiled with him. She reached out her hand and stared deeply into his eyes, waiting for his decision.

Talon stared at her hand for a few moments before gingerly gripping it in his claws, shaking carefully.

"This doesn't change anything... I'm still gonna try and make him mine." Nightshade let out a peal of laughter, thankful that the animosity between them had, if not disappeared, at least subsided.

"Wouldn't have it any other way Lizard... And may the best... Person win." Pulling their hands away, the pair of them looked up the stairs. It had been a while since they came down here... Wolf should be here by now...

Talon jerked his thumb and smiled to his rival.

"Why don't we go see what's keeping the big guy busy?" Gripping thin air, the shield appeared in his hand which he twirled before tossing it into the air before catching it again. Heading up the stone steps, Talon's voice followed her, altered slightly through the echo.

"You know, I've seen him naked once... More than you have I bet..."

--

The door was little more than shards of wood held together by spit and determination as Wolf dug his heels into the stone floor. More blows were raining down on the stone walls, cracks already spreading fast.

"_Where the hell are you two?_" He screamed as he was knocked far across the foyer, skidding to a halt before two pairs of recognisable feet. Eyes looking upward, he scowled and began to tap his armoured claws on the floor.

"Let me guess, you were fighting again?" Talon and Nightshade looked at each other, mouths open in disbelief. Finally, the reptile spoke up, stammering.

"W-we were waiting for _you_!" Hauling him up, the pair glanced at each other and nodded, forming a temporary truce. The doors shuddered and exploded violently, raining shards and slivers of wood onto the trio. In the hazy smoke left behind, shapes twisted just out of view and wordlessly, the three shifted into battle stances, ready to leap.

They waited for a minute before Talon lowered his shield, scratching his head.

"Erm... Where are they?" Before either could answer, the ceiling collapsed and a shape dropped through, landing just in front of them. It resembled a spider with a human-like torso where its head should be, four arms swinging a sword in each hand in a wide arc. One of them hit Wolf with the flat in the gut and he was knocked through several pews before crashing into the holy water font, groaning. Talon threw his shield like a disc, only for the swords to block it and send it back, embedding it in the wall just above his head, causing him to emit a yelp of panic. Nightshade rolled her eyes before vanishing, reappearing behind the creature, staff raised above its head.

With a bestial snarl, the beast leaned two of its arms back, blades blocking her attempt, with a savage screech; it tossed her over its shoulder, throwing her into the ground causing her to emit a shriek of pain. Wolf sat up, eyes turning into that of a pure animalistic rage and he leapt into the air, claws raised. The creature attempted to block this one as well, but he didn't stop, slashing and tearing at the blades themselves until, with an eerie tinkle like smashed souls, they shattered into thousands of pieces. Digging his claws deep into the beast's chest, he turned his head to face the now armed Talon and screamed.

"Now!" Nodding with grim determination, he huffed onto the shield, flames coating the metal. Once again, his body seemed to move by itself, the shield directing his every move. Twisting, he leapt into the air and began to forward summersault, the burning shield before him, striking the creature's head edge-on, cutting deep. Shrieking in agony, it threw the pair of warriors off itself, holding up the handles of its swords. Nightshade, having picked herself up, chuckled, wiping a trickle of blood from her bust lip, staggering slightly, looking for all the world like a drunk as she waved her staff in the air.

"What you gonna do now eh? Bust your swords! What ya gonna do..." Roaring into the sky, the four handles were held up to the roof and the shards flew up, reassembling the blades. The three Supernaturals stared dumbfounded until Talon found his voice, pointing a finger like a two-year old and with a whine in his voice.

"Oh c'mon! That's _cheating_! You Goddamned _Bastard_!" He snatched up a piece of fallen masonry and threw it at the creatures head who paid it no attention as it bounced off a pale, soulless eye, advancing with all four blades scrapping over each other.

--

The three backed up, step by step, as the creature moved forwards. Wolf glanced at his comrades and jerked his head towards the crypt entrance.

"We have to get it away from the others!" Talon's body burst into flame before he managed to control himself, resorting to shouting at the top of his fiery lungs.

"It's fucking immortal! We have no chance!" Nightshade paused, looked to her staff and then to the pieces of rock littering the floor. Lifting up a sizeable chuck, she weighed it in her hand before throwing it with deadly accuracy. It struck the creature's chest, but once again it did nothing to stop it. Then she pulled the shield from a stammering dragon and threw it, watching as the creature made every attempt possible to block it.

"No... It's these weapons! They can hurt it, like the rest! It doesn't bother with anything else!" Talon snatched his shield back as it flew overhead, waving his other arm in the air with a flippant expression.

"Oh, well, that's that sorted... Get us a rocket launcher and we'll blow it bits no problem!" Wolf glanced from the Nightshade to Talon with a small smile on his face and nodded.

"Actually, she's on to something... Come on, help me get this bugger outside..."

He leapt over the creature, using the walls to springboard off from and landed on all fours on the other side, making a half-hearted swipe at it. The others followed suit, Talon flying over and Nightshade teleporting. The street outside the church was still filled with creatures and he jerked his head towards the big one, asking if they could take it alone while he took care of them.

"We'll be fine... Go on, have fun!" Grinning humourlessly, he spun on his heel and ran, sometimes on all four, sometimes on two, and once with three as he slit a few throats as he darted into the middle of the throng. Once, Talon swore that he stood on his hands and twisted his les like a helicopter, snapping eight necks in a row.

Twirling her staff between her fingers, Nightshade gave the Dragon a competitive look and snapped the staff into its upright position.

"Bet I can smash my two swords before you can..."

"Well, let's make it interesting... Winner gets to spy on Wolf changing..." Snarling, Nightshade leapt towards the creature, although Talon's proposal did have some merits...

She grinned to herself. An image of Wolf without clothing on swam into her mind and with an eerie chuckle, she smashed her staff onto the swords, determined to be the one to win "The Prize..."

**STAR STAR STAR STAR**

Ahem... Once again, sorry for the wait. I had to do university re-sits you see...

So... Drachen? Yeah, don't worry; I'm only getting your pet to _act_ interested in Guys... In fact, he's told Wolf that he likes to sneak into the bathroom when you're in the shower...

/Grins as Talon is getting attacked/


	5. A Chance to Shine

**A Chance to Shine**

Nightshade leapt to the air as a gleaming black blade attempted to do some major rearrangement of her stomach contents, landing softly on the unearthly metal and running up it. She dodged the second blade, grabbing the beast's arm and flipping up on its shoulder. Wrapping one of the creature's tendril like hairs around her palm, she began to use the point of her staff to stab at the creature's neck. It reared up on its hind legs, flailing its four swords, trying to knock her off. The Vampiress gritted her teeth, trying her best to keep out of harm's way.

While she was keeping the monster distracted, a large lizard ran up, shield in both hands and a determined look on his face. Emitting a roar of fury, shouting out a phrase in the dragon tongue, he rammed the slightly serrated edge of the metal into the creature's softer underbelly. A gush of black smoke began to spray out and waft away in the night sky, obscuring the sight of both warriors for an instant.

But that was all the beast needed. Spinning on its feet, it tossed Nightshade off and onto Talon in a heap, both cursing and grumbling at each other.

"Dumb Lizard..."

"Your fault damned parasite!"

Both kicked away from each other just as a blade split the earth between them, the Vampire vanishing in a blaze of light, only to reappear beneath the creature. Talon spread his wings and readied his shield, coaxing flames to coat the edge till the metal glowed white.

Over to the side, Wolf sat patiently, fists and feet coated in those strange weapons that just... Appeared to them one day. Flexing his fingers, he waited, a small pit of fear gnawing at his stomach. The plan was simple. Talon and Nightshade broke the blades, leaving the creature wide open to an attack from the Werewolf's coated limbs. His tail twitched as the pair collided into a wall, wincing slightly. It pained him, not being able to help. Vampires and Dragons were hard wearing, but for brute force that could take a lot of punishment, you needed a Werewolf. But it was that strength that resigned him to back-up duty. Shifting position slightly, he narrowed his eyes, staring up at the sky for the briefest moments... Something was coming...

----

High above the clouds, a flock of winged beasts swarmed around a small pinprick of blackness. With each scream down below that was cut off, the hole drew larger, crackles of black energy discharging into the air... Just out of sight, just on the edge of the Sixth sense that lets people know they were being watched, something stirred... Something moved... Something... Waited...

----

Talon threw his shield at a descending blade, striking the metal just before it carved a bloody gash down Nightshade's back. Smashing like so many delicate glass windows, the blade shattered, leaving the path wide open...

Now Winterbourne could drop from the rooftop, landing square on the beast's back, wobbling as he got his balance. Digging his foot claws into the soft, almost sand-like back flesh, he snarled and delivered swipe after swipe from his Gauntlet covered hands, cleaving chunks of the sand-flesh in his wake. The beast roared, dropping to one knee...

"Talon, Nightshade! All out attack, now!" The pair rose their head just long enough to see the beast struggle to stand, only to be sent back down to the ground with a vicious down swipe. Wolf grunted as it tried to buck him off, his foot claws losing their grip...

"Like, right now!" Talon flared his wings and swooped upwards, dragging his shield along the beast's chest and face. Now the beast was having difficulty. It tried to lift its sword hilts to reform them, like last time, but it could barely stand, let alone fight. Nightshade teleported again, deciding to end the fight once and for all. Reappearing, she spun her staff before ramming the pointed end into the creature...

The creature froze instantly. Literally froze. A small noise, like air hissing out of a tyre rose from its face and even Talon and Wolf winced and moved their hands over... Certain areas.

"Girl, remind me _never _to get you mad..." Talon gripping his shield tighter, spinning up into the air and slicing across the monster's throat. For the Coup de Grace, Wolf tore his paws out of the beast's back, jumped up and dragged both paws down the creature's front, shredding its chest and face...

----

The beast shuddered, the flesh writhing beneath its "skin". Black mist began to seep out from all over its body, especially the wounds the trio had caused. The three covered their faces as the beast raised his head and roared to the sky, filled with pain, sorrow and rage...

----

The hole in the sky was now larger than most city blocks. Clouds and birds were dragged into it, trees were uprooted and swallowed and a stream of pink rose up from the city below and vanished beyond the event horizon, gone forever... When the beast's call reached it, the energy discharges focused on one position, striking the city with demonic ferocity...

----

The earth trembled beneath their feet, a piercing cry echoing within their minds... Within their own souls. Wolf dropped to his knees, clutching his skull, howling loudly at the pain, the sorrow and the fear that was drilling itself into his own Heart...

Talon attempted to fly, only to screech with pain and crash headfirst into a wall, cracks spider webbing over the concrete. Pieces that fell off were quickly sucked into the vortex up above and vanished without a trace...

Nightshade screamed, her voice echoing with the cry in her mind, her staff dropping from her hand and vanishing in a blaze of light...

----

Within a chamber, deep below the Earth's crust, a strange door was ripped out and tossed to the side. A small scuttling creature slipping inside, gorging itself on the sweet darkness within... Finally, it reached out and grabbed a large orb of pink energy, wrenching it out of its protective web and throwing it out of the chamber... Where it was caught and drawn into the black hole in the sky...

----

The black hole was drawing everything into itself, absorbing them to be lost forever. With the defeat of the last pink object, the world seemed to just crumble. Cities were left in ruins, rivers and lakes dried up and the entire planet was shaking apart...

Talon had managed to grab hold of a tree that was still tightly rooted somehow; his entire body flailing from the sheer power the black hole was absorbing... His claws dug deep into the hard bark, but even so, he could feel his grip slipping...

Wolf had wrapped his arms around a steel girder embedded in the ground, his elbows feeling as if they were going to rip apart... He couldn't hold on much longer, not against such suction... Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw Talon's grip fail and was dragged into the air by some unseen force. Nightshade was next, her grip on her staff loosening for an instant. But that was all the black hole in the sky needed to sweep her and her mysterious weapon away. Concern overriding his fear of the unknown, he released his metallic grip on the earth below him, striving to reach the pair of them...

----

In the centre of the darkness, like some obscene eye of the storm, a perfect sphere of utter calm reigned, fragments of building, rock and plant life floating in the dead air. The black clad teenager stepped forward, fist clenching as he _felt_ the Heart of this world fall before the almighty onslaught of Darkness. And as the Heart was ripped away from its mortal shell, the body suffered, crumbling apart like a broken vase.

From below him he could feel the stream of Hearts rising up to meet him. Spreading his arms wide, the torrent streamed past him, their pale radiance slowly dimming and turning black as the Darkness itself. And with each new Black Heart, he could feel himself becoming stronger...

Finally, a large pink Orb, which could only be the Heart of this World engulfed him as it darkened, heading towards that eternally hungry maw of the Darkness itself. The rush of power that spread through him made him shiver, before raising his head in a shrill laughter of the truly evil, or truly insane... Or perhaps both.

His laughter dimmed when he felt three Hearts approaching, but instead of succumbing to the Darkness, their Light only shone brighter...

----

The three reached out, fingers grasping thin air as they attempted to intertwine. For a brief moment, the three fingertips brushed each other, before the wild winds of the black hole tore them apart. Before the Darkness overflowed their senses, the last sight they saw was the other two's despairing faces as the winds swept them away from each other...

----

The shrouded figure only sneered as the trio were separated within the Dark Corridor's event horizon, the eddies and whorls of the flow of hearts whisking them away to Worlds unknown. Perhaps they would find each other, perhaps not. The Universe is a big place. More than likely, they would never see each other again.

"And good riddance to them..." Letting a hand rest on the locket around his neck, he muttered something to it before letting his hand fall away, turning to face the dark infinite of the Universe...

"Now... Which World should be relieved of its Heart next?"

----

Falling...

Soaring...

Caught...

Thrown...

Up...

Down...

Backwards...

Forwards...

Past...

Future...

All the same.

The Darkness was chocking. Stifling. Every sense was tainted by its presence. No sight, no sound, no touch, no smell. Nothing. As if space and time did not exist here, in this corrupted region of existence.

And yet... Through the veil of darkness, something bright shone out.

He didn't know what guided him. He didn't know how he knew, or how he moved.

All he knew was that in the Light, all would be made right again...

Winterbourne felt his body twist and turn to face the two pinpricks of light that were already converging as one...

His hand reached out... And there was Light...

**STAR STAR STAR STAR**

_*Blushes*_

Erm... Okay... REALLY sorry about the wait for this, rather sub-standard_,__ chapter. However, in my defence, I had University to take care of, exploring a new relationship with a certain Leopard and I had one EPIC case of Writer's Block..._

_*Chuckles*_

But... I suppose the Kingdom Hearts 1 OST I got managed to get these old creative juices of mine flowing again. If anyone reading this is watching anything else of mine, I'll try to post something else before I leave on my University trip to Wales... I can't promise anything though.

_*Nods*_

_Okay, NEXT chapter, I'll reveal the only remaining member of the legendary Golden Trio... Riku! Not to mention a certain character I promised another reader!_

_And so, until next time..._


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